"In the end…We only regret the chances we didn’t take, the relationships we were afraid to have,and the decisions we waited too long to make.” Lewis Carroll

As we were catching up on auditions from American Idol last night, the quote above came up at the start of one of the segments. It's a little bizarre to get something out of American Idol beyond entertainment, but the quote haunted me enough that the first thing I did when I got up this morning was a Google search to find it.

It was amazing how many great quotes came from Alice, White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat. So many of us have at some point in our careers been afraid to go down the rabbit hole and wasted time over-analyzing which path to take next.

It's a short post with one single point. If we all make 2016 a year of taking chances, building relationships and speed up our decision-making, think about how strong a year it will become.​

For those of you who know you need to better understand lighting, start attending lighting workshops. Let's make your choice of natural light a real choice, not a necessity because you haven't taken the time to understand lighting. Start following people like Joe McNally, JB Sallee, Sal Cincotta, Brian Marcus, Dixie Dixon, Tamara Lackey, Tim Walden, Jared Platt, Justin and Mary Marantz, Charles and Jennifer Maring, Bambi Cantrell...and the list goes on and on. Plus they're all shooting with Profoto gear - so just hit Profoto's YouTube channel.

For those of you who know you need to diversify you skill set - just do it! The only place to start is the beginning.

For those of you who insist on doing everything alone - get involved in your local guild, chapter, club or affiliate. One of the best things to do for your business is get involved with other photographers. Start attending monthly meetings and get to know your competitors. They'll soon become your best resource for help.

For those of you still working on your marketing plans, and I know this is going to sound like another infomercial, but I don't talk about anything I don't believe in! Check out Marathon's Marketing Advantage Program. It's the only one of its kind in the industry, and it comes with your assigned facilitator. You need help with developing great marketing programs. If nothing else sign up for the MAP Getaway this July and join me along with some of the most talented educators in the industry!

​Stop chasing success! There is no success fairy only hard work, dedication, and passion. Stay focused on your dreams and stop thinking so many of the challenges seem impossible.

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"Why?"

Check out"Why?" one of the most popular features on the SCU Blog.It's a very simple concept - one image, one artist and one short sound bite. Each artist shares what makes the image one of their most favorite. We're coming up on 100 artists featured since the project started. Click on the link above and you can scroll through all of the episodes to date.

Authors

Skip Cohen is President of SCU, founder of Marketing Essentials International and past president of Rangefinder Publishing and WPPI. He's been an active participant in the photographic industry since joining Hasselblad USA in 1987 as president. He has co-authored six books on photography and actively supports dozens of projects each year involving photographic education.

Scott Bourne

Scott Bourne was the first Dean of Marketing at SCU. He helped to establish this blog as a resource for aspiring and working professional photographers. He's an educator, artist, author and from time to time you'll see his name on guest posts that are always relevant to photography and marketing!